How To Write Your Own Contract  

This workshop is designed to help independent contractors write their own contracts. Before attending the workshop, think about your current approach to the topics listed in the Workshop Outline.

Costanzo, Louis C. STC Proceedings (1994). Careers>Advice

Ideas are a Dime a Dozen, So Why Should I Listen to Yours? "Pitching" Your Ideas So That They Will be Heard  

Getting your ideas heard and approved can be difficult any time, but especially when your audience is a supervisor or other decision-maker who is juggling numerous projects, ideas, and deadlines.

Watson, Frank. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Advice

It's a Marathon, not a Sprint: Managing Your Technical Writing Career  

I've trained for and run three marathons. My marathon experiences taught me lessons that can be applied to going the distance in a technical communication career. Going the distance requires a willingness to “get going,” continually work on the basics, cross- train, avoid being distracted by what was and what could be, and learn from experience.

Harvey, Michael. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Advice>Writing>Technical Writing

Ivory Tower or Real World?

One man's career transition from academia to the technical writing. He dicusses foiled ambitions, crossing over, what is shared, Is it different, and Is it a matter of worth?

Thurston, John. Writer's Block. Careers>Advice

Keeping Recruiters Accountable

Sooner or later, most of us work with a recruiter or two (or three or four) to look for a job or to respond to the ever-increasing abundance of employment opportunities for technical communicators in the Triangle area. In fact, due to the tendency companies have for hiring technical writers on a contract basis, recruiters often play a necessary part in our career development. This site offers some tips on dealing with recruiters and avoiding poor recruiting practices.

Shuman, Ceil. Carolina Communique (1997). Careers>Advice

Living to Work or Working to Live?  

When your life is out of balance, make a separation between your job and your work. Your job is what you're paid to do; your work fulfills your life's purpose. You can discover your work by paying close attention to the things that attract and motivate you. While you search, use your job to build up 'Working Capital' to support your work. Working Capital is created by using good money management and investing skills.

Stahlman, Gretchen. STC Proceedings (2003). Careers>Advice

Making the Transition from Student to Employee  

Advice to students preparing to become technical communicators.

Alroy, Faye. Intercom (2003). Careers>Advice>TC

Making Yourself Part of the Team

Thoughts on how a contract technical communicator can become part of a development team, and set the tone for the writers who follow.

DMN Communications (2008). Careers>Advice>Workflow>Collaboration

Mapping Your Career Success

When you're going on a journey, it helps to have a good map because it will save time and help you make the right decisions along the way. Your career is a journey, and it's useful to have a clear picture of where you want to go with it.

David, Meryl. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Careers>Advice

‘May I Have Your Attention?’: Exordial Techniques in Informative Oral Presentations      

An introduction, even a short one, makes audiences more willing to listen to a speech, think more highly of the speaker, and understand a speech better than when no introduction is given. Two experiments at Delft University of Technology support this conclusion. Subjects viewed videotapes of professional presentations on the topic of Sick Building Syndrome. In one experiment, subjects rated the effectiveness of three introductory or 'exordial' techniques in gaining audience attention: an anecdote, an ethical appeal, and a 'your problem' approach. Results indicate that audiences do respond to exordial techniques, and in a predictable manner. In the second experiment, two speeches with anecdotal openers were tested against one without any introduction. The anecdotes led to significantly higher ratings of the presentation's comprehensibility and interest, as well as the speaker's credibility. The presence of an anecdote also resulted in higher retention scores. Oddly enough, the relevance of the anecdote did not seem to make a difference in the ratings.

Andeweg, Bas A., Jaap C. de Jong and Hans Hoeken. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Presentations>Advice>Rhetoric

No Work? Strategies for Surviving a Dry Spell  

No new offers are coming in, and you don’t have any potential projects brewing on the back burner. Your clients have no plans to hire independent contractors for the time being. Now what?

Fugate, Alice E. And Elizabeth A. 'Betsy' Frick. Intercom (2003). Careers>Advice

Perspectives on Science and Technical Communication  

The purpose of presenting is to actuate. You want to persuade people. You want to persuade them to think, or get excited about something, or act in response to what you present. Otherwise there is no point in making the effort of preparing and delivering your presentation. Presentations do not necessarily need to be meaningful for you. You already know the meaning of your message. Deliver the message from the audiences' point of view. (Another way to say this: What you want to present is not as important as what the audience needs to hear in order for your message to come across clearly, simply.) Remember that an audience will judge a presentation on the basis of how meaningful is was for them.

Kane, Andrew S. University of Maryland (2002). Presentations>Advice>TC

Potential Position Descriptions for Information Engineering Professionals

This article defines the tasks and responsibilities for up to seven levels of information engineers, plus two levels of management, because the author found that many companies do not provide formal position descriptions for their technical writers and other communication specialists.

Capri, Steve. Writing Assistance (2007). Careers>Information Design>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: Effective Visuals

Good visuals can strengthen your presentation tremendously - but unfortunately, they're rare. Here are their four key attributes: few, big, simple, and (occasionally) memorable. How many visuals per minute? People often ask me how many visuals they should use per minute of speech. I think they hope I will say expansively, 'As many as you like!' Instead, I tell them the opposite: 'Use no more than you really need.' The key is this: Use a visual only if it has a clear purpose.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: The Summary

In this series, I have described a universal presentation structure consisting of introduction, body, and summary. Parts 3 and 4 discussed the introduction and the body in detail. This time, we'll see how to close the presentation with an effective summary.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Preparing Outstanding Presentations: Understanding Your Audience

A presentation is a great chance to further your career. The reason is simple: most presentations are ill conceived and poorly delivered. So, if you can become one of the few who do it right, you'll stand out like a shining beacon in a dark wasteland. People will pick you for key projects because they can count on you to sell the work at presentation time. In this series, we look at the principles that enable you to prepare outstanding, career-boosting presentations.

Reimold, Cheryl. IEEE PCS (2000). Presentations>Advice

Professional Development Online: Overview

This website discusses strategies for entering the job market. Whether you are looking for entry-level work or looking to move from one job to another, this site provides you with sound advice.

Williamson, William J. University of Northern Iowa. Careers>Advice

Respecting Technical Writers

Technical writers are made up of complex individual personae. As a writer, you are expected to have knowledge of your subject. The more subjects you write about, the more knowledge you gain. (Supposedly.) Not every writer is like that, but most are, and they deserve to be congratulated for going the extra mile and actually learning a product they are going to write about. Most writers maintain knowledge about many systems and subjects, thus becoming an 'expert' in the technical writing field.

Taylor, Vicki M. Suite101 (2001). Careers>Advice>Professionalism

Rolling the Start-Up Dice

So you want to work for an Internet start-up company. Bruce and Moyer show you the ropes.

Bruce, Marlene and Lee Moyer. List Apart, A (2000). Careers>Advice>Workplace

Separate But Equal: Developing Success Profiles for Technical Communicators  

To compare and evaluate expertise within a group of technical communicators, we developed a Competencies/Career Phases Matrix. This matrix breaks down soft and hard skills in 12 categories, such as technical depth, skill acquisition, and teamwork/leadership. The matrix also evaluates each category in four levels of mastery: Apprentice, Experienced, Master, and Expert. Through this evaluation process, the leader is able to obtain a clear picture of an individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. In addition, it gives the technical communicator a way to evaluate him/herself and provides a clear image of what is expected of them, should they choose to improve their performance in the different categories.

Ricks, Debra and Patricia N. Madigan. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Advice>Assessment

The Short Talk

The short talk (<= 20 minutes) is a fixture at most scientific conferences. Assuming that you have an overhead projector, this note focuses on how to give a good short talk. I think that if you can give good short talk then you can probably give a good 50-minute presentation because the additional time permits a certain flexibility. For example, in a 50-minute talk I think that the speaker can risk losing the majority of listeners for 10 minutes while a technical aspect is embellished for the 'experts'. In contrast, the short talk requires a more sustained level of clarity if it is to be successful.

Van Loan, Charles. Cornell University (2000). Presentations>Advice

Survival Skills for Part-time Technical Writing Parents  

Suggests ways technical communicators can cope with the often-conflicting demands of work and family.

Tremblay, Leanne. Intercom (2001). Careers>Advice>TC